Marlowe The Cat vs Specter
by LayD
Summary: Louis gives Donna a "present"...Tonight she comes home and a new human is with her, I have never seen this human. It is a male human. He is tall, and he wears a suit like Louis but not like Louis because his has three pieces. Who is he? What is he doing here? Where did he come from? Where did she find him? Is he a stray?
1. Chapter 1

I own nothing.

Do not sue.

Apologies for grammar/spelling issues

Fluff I guess?

Just a little idea that popped into my head.

What if Louis gives Donna a cat…

**Marlowe The Cat vs. Specter**

My human is Donna Roberta Paulsen.

The great Louis Marlowe Litt as peace offering for his recent "behavior" gave me to her. Louis is a King amongst men and I do not question the motives behind this transaction since he is almost as smart as I am.

While my human does not know how to warm my milk to the proper temperature, or how to brush me correctly as yet, I will admit is far prettier and smells better than Louis. She will learn these tasks or take my anger out on the torture device she puts on her paws. The things with red bottoms, she wears in the mornings before she leaves me alone.

Where she goes all day and what she does at this "work" thing as she calls it, I do not really know, nor do I really care. I get her warm, comfortable bed to myself. Okay, so maybe sometimes I do miss her when she is gone. Who else is going to rub my head, scratch my stomach or constantly tell me how handsome I am?

Most nights she comes home when the sun is gone, she looks tired and is alone. These nights are the best because I have her all to myself and I get whatever I want.

Some nights her human friend who she calls "Rachel" comes over. All they do is talk, it is hard to get attention from anyone during this female bonding ritual, but it is okay. I do not mind Rachel, as I have grown accustomed to her. She is just as pretty as my human and she has found the spot behind my left ear. Plus she always brings me these fabulous gourmet feline treats from the high-end pet store that Louis recommends, not CVS that I know my human sometimes goes to. They drink their milk, which is an odd dark red colour in fancy bowls and talk about everything possible from work to school, about Rachel's mating partner Mike and something called a "Harvey."

Tonight she comes home and a new human is with her, I have never seen this human. It is a male human. He is tall, and he wears a suit like Louis but not like Louis because his has three pieces. Who is he? What is he doing here? Where did he come from? Where did she find him? Is he a stray? This is my territory and I will not share my human tonight. They are still at the door; shoes and jackets are being taken off as I make my way over flicking my tail.

She spots me and her face lights up. I brush against her legs and purr as she bends to pick me up, whispering her usual sweet greetings to me and giving me my kisses that I secretly live for, but only from her. I make sure never to take my eyes off the stranger. What does he want with my human?

"You have a cat?" he asks in a surprised tone.

How dare this fool call me a "cat", I am not just a "cat," he clearly does not know who I am and he certainly would not be able to comprehend my direct lineage to Snowbelle from the movie _Stuart Little_. I am a Silver Traditional Persian from the best breeder on the east coast. I hope my human does not plan on mating and having a litter with this dumb fool, who has a goofy hairstyle.

"I do. His name is Marlowe," she says proudly.

"Marlowe, where have I heard that name before?" he asks confused.

"Yes Harvey, like Louis's middle name."

Aha! So this is the "Harvey" she talks about. I do not like him. Not one bit. This is the man that keeps her away from me. That makes her stay at work, when she should be home with me. That calls at 2am and wakes us up from our beauty sleep because he needs a meeting changed or that he misplaced an important file. He needs to leave.

"Why would you name it after Louis of all people?"

"Because he was a gift from Louis."

"Wait, what? Louis gave you a cat?"

"Yeah, kind of like a personal peace offering."

"And you're okay with this? I didn't take you a pet person."

"I'm not or I wasn't…but what's not to love about this cute guy?"

"It's from and named after Louis!" he exclaims as he throws his hands up in the air.

"Harvey, grow up!"

"This is unbelievable. You got a cat as a gift and all I got is him taking my client…"

She takes me into the kitchen; sets me down and prepares my food as I continue watch them. He is right on her heel with something that smells like the shitty Thai food that she loves.

She leaves my food dish in the usual spot by the sink, but I will not be eating tonight. Not if he is still here. I would rather starve and defend her honor. They move to the couch with their food and I curl up in a ball by her feet as they eat. They laugh about Louis teaching Mike to drive and talk about how things finally seem to be getting back on track. They clink their glasses as he says "to a long over due celebration for us weathering the storm that is known as Litt," seriously who is this guy? What an idiot, there is no storm outside.

They finish their food and she gets up to grab the remote and the Star Trek Blu-ray that I might have scratched when I was bored. I look up at him and catch him looking at her; his eyes smile as he looks at her, the way mine smile at the red light she has. He is up to no good. I use this moment as my chance to strike. Before she makes it back to the couch, I jump up on the couch and stretch making myself as long as possible, my eyes on him the entire time. We stare each other down. He needs to recognize that I am the man of this apartment and that Donna Paulsen is mine, I do not share. All of a sudden he leans over and flicks my ear, instantly I'm on all fours, my tail goes straight up and I hiss. I hiss like I have never hissed before, I try to pounce and scratch him but he moves too fast, you would think he is some sort of boxer. She sees all of this of course and she does not look pleased at him. That of course makes me happy.

"Harvey don't" she scolds him as she picks me up.

I look at him; he has a wide smirk on his face. If I could just reach over and take a swipe his lip would look more like the Joker when I am finished with him. He got his strike in first and while he might have won the fight, I won the war. I always win. She is cuddling with me as the movie plays and as they fall asleep. I do not sleep, not while he has been trying to inch closer to her all night. He thinks that he is slick and that I would not notice but I notice everything Harvey boy, what kind of name is "Harvey" anyway?


	2. Chapter 2

I own nothing.

Do not sue.

Apologies for grammar/spelling issues.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed (and the lurkers who read it lol) much appreciated. I wasn't planning on adding another chapter but some people asked in the reviews and in messages. So I tried my best.

* * *

It is a late Friday afternoon and Pearson Specter Litt is unusually slow and has been all week. Funny thing is Donna's phone has been ringing off the hook but nothing is getting transferred to Harvey so either she is beyond efficient and is handling everything with no help or she is up to something. Harvey does not mind, after everything they have weathered during the past few weeks he is thankful for some down time before it all picks up again next week and from what he can see in his calendar next week will be busy a one.

He has been sitting at his desk pretending to work; while he really has been looking for retro basketball jerseys online for the past two hours when Donna quietly walks in. She is up to something and he knows it, she has that innocent look on her face that gives it away.

"You can stop pretending to work, we both know you haven't done anything in the past two hours" she says.

"How do you know?"

"Because I haven't heard my name. Donna I need this or Donna I need that…or well, just Donna in general." She says smugly knowing she is right and he knows he was caught red handed.

"You're interrupting my jersey searching time. Come look, this guy has a retro Jerry West." He points to his screen and his face lights up like a little boy on Christmas morning.

"I need favor."

"Depends what kind of favor you have in mind…" he says and flashes her the Specter grin.

"Get your mind out of the gutter Harvey. I got a last minute call to cover someone in a play tonight. Do you think you could drop by my apartment after work and feed Marlowe for me?"

"Ask Louis, he's the one that gave you the goddamn thing."

"Do I really want Louis alone in my apartment?"

"Okay point taken. Ask Rachel?"

"She has school."

"Ask Mike?"

"He's staying late to work on something with Jeff."

"Ask Jessica?" He laughs out loud, realizing just how stupid that sounds.

"You're not funny and I don't want to get fired again! I'm only asking because you have a key already."

"Your cat doesn't like me," he shouts.

"Don't be silly, Marlowe likes everyone," Donna states matter-of-factly.

"He tried to kill me last time I was over."

"Because you flicked his ears," she yells.

"He was staring at me…"

"Will you help me or not?"

He has her exactly where he wants her. Donna does not ask Harvey for anything, it is quite the opposite. He is the one that asks and takes and she is the one that answers and gives. It is a balance that might seem unfair to others but they understand how it works for them and not just as boss and employee but also as friends. Not so long ago he realized just how much he needed her and how little she really needed him. He was going to take this small request of hers and run with it. Milk it for all he could and really try to get under her skin. She needed his help and the truth is he would do anything for her big or small and they both knew it. He just wanted some fun at her expense first.

"Say please," he says as he stands up from behind his desk and crosses his arms over his chest, staring her down.

"Please."

"Say please Harvey."

"Listen here Specter, this isn't 50 Shades of Grey. I'm not going to beg you…but I'll have you know that starting Monday you can get your own coffee in the morning." Just like that she wins, just like how he always closes his case she always closes him.

"FINE I'll do it, but if something happens to me or if I have fur balls on my suits after..."

"You're scared of a cat? Just do what you do and close, give him the Specter special, show him who is in charge" she challenges him.

"I'm not scared of a cat, it just doesn't like me and it has claws."

"Stop call him 'it,' his name is Marlowe."

"Whatever."

"Thanks. Anytime after 6pm but before 7:30pm okay?"

"Seriously it has a feeding schedule?"

"Yeah, Louis is showing me the ropes of being a cat owner, I never had a pet before. Everything is on the counter, just follow the instructions."

"Anything else my Queen?"

"Nope…but I'm leaving early, okay bye!" She says all to quickly as she spins on her heels and rushes out leaving him looking dumb founded in his office. He realizes Donna Paulsen has just played him, again.

By 6:05pm, the office is a deserted and he decides to pack up and head out as well. He makes it to the elevators and he gets a text saying "appointment with Marlowe Paulsen" he shakes his head and thinks that his cat lady thing is really getting to her. He spots Ray waiting outside for him, tells him that he is going to take a walk and gives him instructions to take a break or grab something to eat, then to pick Donna up after her show, same theater he drove them too before. On the way to her place he stops at a flower shop to pick up a small bouquet of roses. He remembers the last time he saw her on stage. He is not Shakespeare fan but he was a fan of hers and she was fantastic as Portia, the girl got two curtain calls and he felt great getting a chance to her arm candy that night.

He makes it to her apartment just as the thunder clashes and the rain starts to pour. He figures he will feed the cat and wait until the rain passes. He takes out the key she gave years ago when they were young, dumb and working in the DA's office for Cameron. He puts it in, turns and the door opens with a small squeak.

"Here goes nothing," he says to himself and braces himself for another meeting with the infamous Marlowe.

It is almost 7:30pm and she is not home. Where is she? I am stating to think something happened to her. Maybe she is hurt somewhere. Maybe a taxi driver abducted her? Maybe that idiot Harvey is holding her captive against her will again? Yes, that has to be it.

I am so hungry and the rain and thunder are not helping. The rain is pounding against the window and the thunder sounds like Louis when he sleeps. It is not like I am scared of thunder or anything. Okay, so maybe I am terrified as I bury myself deep in blanket she leaves on the couch as I hear another loud bang outside. Where is she? All I want is for her to be at home with me right now.

At that moment it was like God himself sent me a miracle, I can here a key turning in the lock and the door being pushed open. I jump off the couch and race to the door only to stop dead in my tracks. It is he, the spawn of Satan himself.

She is definitely not with him if he is closing the door and locking it.

"Surprise! Not who you were expecting huh?" he says with a wicked grin as he takes his jacket off and throws it on a near by chair.

I just continue to stare. What is he doing here? Is she not coming home? Is she upset with me? Is it because I did not use the litter box last week? Is it because I damaged her iPhone? What did I do to deserve to be stuck with him?

"Okay, listen I'm just here to feed you so don't try anything with me Louis Junior and Donna isn't hear to save you" I hear as he walks past me and into the kitchen.

I see that he has brought flowers; he really is trying to make a litter with her. It starts with flowers or chocolate in all the girly movies she watches with Rachel, I know how all this works now. Starts with a gift, then the bedroom door is closed, then a litter comes along and soon enough I am long forgotten and out the door. Today is the worse day of my life. I might need to take a day off tomorrow.

The sound of thunder is heard again but I cannot show any sign of weakness at the moment. I have to play it off like the strong, independent feline that I am. He leaves the flowers on the table and starts taking my food out. I move slowly to the kitchen, watching him to see if he will try to poison my food. He finishes and put the plate down but not in its usual place by the sink.

"Eat" he says and points to the bowl.

Maybe I can use this to my advantage. I will not eat and he will get in trouble because she will think he did something to me. So I sit near the bowl and we continue to stare at each other. One of us will cave eventually and it will be him. Five minutes turn into ten and then fifteen minutes pass, this is going nowhere. He is still standing there and I am so hungry that I could eat my paw.

"You need to eat right now, Donna will think I did something to you if you don't." This is exactly what I want her to think you fool; he is so close to breaking I can feel it.

"Fine don't eat, suit yourself. But I'm hungry and don't feel like starving," as he opens the fridge door to see what there is.

"Damnit Donna, Thai again? Is this all you eat woman?"

I let out a loud meow by mistake but it is in agreement with his statement. It is all that she eats. He looks at me like he understands. He takes the container of pad thai out, opens it, smells it and makes a face but he still dumps in into a plate to heat up.

Minus our one second of mutual understanding, I still have not eaten. The microwave dings and he takes his plate along with a beer and goes to eat in the living room. I can hear the TV playing in the background and the light it admits adds a warm glow to the entire apartment. The rain continues to come down hard and the thunder seems louder than it was a couple minutes ago.

All I want is to eat, curl up in a ball on the couch and wait until she gets home but I cannot even do that he has taken over my entire apartment.

This is crazy, I'm just going to eat my food and he can leave. Hopefully he can leave, get soaked by the rain, catch pneumonia, die and leave us alone. Okay, well that might be a little harsh but he just needs to leave. So I eat my food as fast as possible and walk back into the living room to reclaim my couch and blanket.

The TV is still on, his shoes are off, the plate is on table and not in the sink, Donna will not like that and he is sprawled out, half on the couch half off. My blanket is somewhere under him. Maybe I can choke him with his tie. The thunder roars and I jump up on the couch without second thought. I land on his chest and he bolts upright, well at least I woke him up. It rolls again and I put my pride aside and try to bury myself in his arms.

He laughs. "I think I found someone's weakness, little Louis is scared of thunder," he says as he lies back down with me.

At this point I do not really care anymore, I just want the thunder to stop. I hate to admit it but I feel safe with him, he is big and warm, his arms are strong and he smells like the expensive aftershave that I like. Okay, so maybe he is not that bad and I can see why Donna might like him. He starts to rub my head and we both fall asleep. Both of us tired after a long day.

It's 11:35pm by the time she makes it back home. Much to her surprise Ray was waiting outside to pick her up after the show as a request from Harvey. The first thing she notices is that the TV is on and that Marlowe hasn't made his way over to her as yet. She walks over to turn the TV and that is when she sees them huddled up together. Harvey squeezed his long frame on the couch and Marlowe is curled up with his face buried in Harvey's neck with a protective arm draped over him. That is when she realized it must have been the thunder, Marlowe is terrified of it and he tries to hide in anything he deems fit. It was a sweet sight that she came home to, so she snaps a picture to send to Louis and Mike in the morning, puts her flowers in a vase, she moves Marlowe back to her room and covers Harvey with a blanket. She goes to sleep that night glad that all her boys both at work and at home are getting back on track and that Harvey actually closed a cat.

\- Fin


End file.
